When was the last time you watched a viral video that makes actual sense? Wait. Yes, you read it right, I was asking when was the last time you watched a viral video that makes actual sense? Or do I need to repeat it for the third time?
What do you remember about the last viral video that you have watched? And how many times have you watched that same video?
This is every brand’s greatest dream – for their content to go viral. For all the right reasons, brand content creators are scratching their head figuring out how to make their content explode on the world wide web. Who would not want to get that glorious feeling of getting that zero to million traffic out of your brand content?
Time Magazine wrote that popularity on the Internet is mostly driven, not by a million one-to-one shares, but rather by a handful of one-to-one-million blasts. Like a Kardashian Instagram post. Popularity is still driven by broadcasts — by publishers, celebrities, and other broadcasters who can reach thousands or even millions of people at once.
But that is just one side of the story though.
A few months back in 2017, this BBC News interview received 25 million views. It was a typical Skype interview with BBC news. Until a toddler entered the room and began tugging his arm. There is no influencer involved, no brand push, just pure innocent luck.
So it is tough to predict the virality of the content. But we have the “signs of the times” at our disposal to guide us and help us understand how to craft video content that has a great chance of becoming viral.
But how do you really create viral video content that is shareable to the point of mania?
Bend the rules.
Don’t be afraid to come up with something strange but compelling. Something that people have not seen yet (just make sure there would be no animals getting harmed in the production of your video). Don’t be afraid to take an unusual approach to the creation of your video.
Try the perfect combination.
Cute + storytelling; dramatic + storytelling; funny + storytelling. Most viral video content has this combination. Remember the Van Damme Volvo video? How about the breakdancing gorilla? These are the best testament of combining storytelling with something enjoyable and resulting to viral video content.
Keep it simple, short but with high-quality.
The challenge is to make something epic under one minute. According to The New York Times, 19 percent of people will stop watching a video after only 10 seconds. And as it reaches the one minute mark the video has already lost 44 percent of total viewership. After the 2-minute benchmark, viewers are already packing their bags to watch the next video that comes their way.
Never spend time to blatantly pitch your product.
Some viral video content has brand exposure, but there is no such thing as a video pitching its product going viral. This is a no-no, you can actually “explore” ways to tell a story highlighting the benefit of your product. But never use the “in your face” approach of showing your product.
Piggyback riding influencers.
Virality is all about popularity. There is nothing more rewarding than having your video content tied up to an influencer with gazillions of followers. Heather Morgan’s process is definitely a must for anyone wanting to get in touch with influencers.
Are you ready for your first viral video?
There are no guarantees when it comes to the virality of your video content. If you can carefully study what worked and what didn’t work, you are in a fascinating spot to be the next internet sensation to go viral.
Source:
http://time.com/4672540/go-viral-on-internet/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/business/11drill.html?_r=2&
Thank you so much for this article By Robert Cristobal -,